Author: Carter Nordike

Gilbert Melendez: How Does Last Night’s Fight Affect His Stock?

Last night, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former champ Josh Thomson completed their trilogy of fights, with Melendez earning the win in the rubber match by split decision.
When Thompson secured Melendez’s back in the fourth…

Last night, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and former champ Josh Thomson completed their trilogy of fights, with Melendez earning the win in the rubber match by split decision.

When Thompson secured Melendez’s back in the fourth round and threatened with a rear naked choke, many believed that he deserved the victory. After all, the fight was close, and Melendez looked tired in the championship rounds.

This mentality destroys Melendez’s stock in people’s minds, leading them to believe that if he could not dominate Thomson, then he would falter against the top lightweights in the UFC. However, many still believe that Melendez is arguably the best 155-pound fighter in the world, based on his wins over fighters such as Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Shinya Aoki and Jorge Masvidal. 

So, what is fact here? Is Melendez a sham? Is he a good talent but not championship material? Or is he really the best in the world?

People seem to really be underrating Thomson. Even here on this site, he has been talked about as a person that should not even be an obstacle for Melendez at this stage in his career.

Now, Thomson is not a top-tier mixed martial artist. However, he is extremely well rounded and holds some impressive victories, including some solid wins in the UFC. He managed to turn Melendez’s eye into a giant mess last night.

It is obvious that Melendez was the better mixed martial artist. However, his cardio suffered, and his accuracy faded when the swelling continued to increase. And yet, he was still able to outpoint Thompson and win the decision.

Even though it was close, and he was in some bad spots, Melendez is still a top lightweight. Maybe he isn’t the guy that will come to the UFC and start a reign at the top, but he showed us that he is still a top talent, and that he needs to come to the UFC.

Thomson proved more than anyone that he too belongs in the UFC. His last stint with the company ended when he was on the receiving end of a highlight KO by the former uncrowned king of the division, Yves Edwards. 

Honestly, this was a great fight, with two talented 155ers battling it out for the third and presumably final time. It is no reason to degrade either fighter. They showed heart, talent and versatility, proving that they are worthy of being present on the big stage with Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson.

Maybe they won’t win the title, but they will both be competitive and exciting in MMA‘s most stacked division.

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Nick Diaz Ruins BJJ Superfight: The Most Unprofessional Fighter Ever?

Yesterday, many martial arts fans paid $10 to tune in and watch what had been dubbed a Brazilian jiu-jitsu superfight between Braulio Estima and Nick Diaz. The night was full of great battles, leaving fans in anticipation of the main event. The camera …

Yesterday, many martial arts fans paid $10 to tune in and watch what had been dubbed a Brazilian jiu-jitsu superfight between Braulio Estima and Nick Diaz. The night was full of great battles, leaving fans in anticipation of the main event. The camera focused on Estima out on the mat, ready to roll. 

However, Diaz was nowhere to be seen.

Cesar Gracie later tweeted that Nick Diaz was out of the match, making it the second time he has botched a fight in his last four scheduled matches, the first being his UFC title shot against Georges St. Pierre.

As is well known to mixed martial arts fans, Diaz apparently escaped out of Cesar Gracie’s bathroom window and was a no-show to the press conference for the fight. He then fought and battered BJ Penn into retirement before being matched up with Carlos Condit in a fight for the interim title.

He would go on to lose by decision, and on top of that, tested positive for marijuana metabolites, earning a suspension from the NSAC. He subsequently retired from the sport and scheduled this BJJ match.

Diaz has tested positive for marijuana twice during his MMA career, once against Takanori Gomi, the other against Condit. He has been in a number of postfight brawls, including the famed Nashville brawl on Strikeforce’s live event on CBS and his brawl in a hospital with Joe Riggs after their fight.

Now, he misses out on a BJJ match where he promised the entirety of his purse to charity.

I’m not the judgy type of person, but the fact that Diaz’s lack of professionalism has transcended sports, following him everywhere he goes seems to cite that the man truly has respect for no one.

One would think that, with his strong roots with Cesar Gracie, he would try to make his mentor proud and showcase the talents Gracie taught him by engaging in a match with such a high-caliber black belt as Estima. That was not even enough for him to try and be professional for once.

At some point, the boy has to grow up. It’s embarrassing that Nathan Diaz is the more mature of the two, and he is the one who gave us the famed double middle finger-triangle on Kurt Pellegrino.

Until then, he earns nothing but disdain. Fans can’t claim that he is just a “fighter.” All he is is a boy who gives no one any respect, and is self-centered in a way that is unheard of in professional sports. 

Social anxiety disorder does not account for this. The only thing that does is that Nick Diaz is a very selfish, very poor sportsman, who reflects badly on everyone he associates with.

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UFC: Brock Lesnar Walked Away from the Game at the Right Time

In UFC 141’s main event, Brock Lesnar was pummeled by former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem. Lesnar was dropped by a kick to the liver and was finished by strikes for the second time in his career, suffering his second consecutive lo…

In UFC 141‘s main event, Brock Lesnar was pummeled by former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem. Lesnar was dropped by a kick to the liver and was finished by strikes for the second time in his career, suffering his second consecutive loss since defeating Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Lesnar announced his retirement right after the fight.

While this is a loss to fight fans and the UFC, as he was one of the most exciting fighters in the organization (he was the largest pay-per-view draw in the business), it was the right thing to do for Lesnar. At 34, Lesnar is still new to the fight game and does not have the time to improve dramatically and make another run at the title. He has had two horribly taxing surgeries on his body in the last two years and has had twelve inches of his colon removed, along with a lot of other physically taxing injuries due to his mononucleosis. Plus, it seems like he will always have a weakness with strikers. And with the talent pool emerging from the heavyweight division, more and more strikers are coming into the heavyweight title picture, making it unlikely that he could ever get his title back.

Now this is not a bad thing. Lesnar has accomplished on pure athletic skill and determination what many can only dream about. Whether or not he was “overhyped” is inconsequential; he reached the top of the mountain and defended his title. So for one brief moment he was undoubtedly the best in his division. That is something to be proud of. His stepping away from the game is the right thing to do; for him, for his family and for the fight game.

Lesnar helped to bring MMA into the mainstream and will continue to thrive beyond him. But what he has done for the game is invaluable. Even if he was becoming irrelevant there is no doubt that he has had the most impact on the UFC in its modern era and should be remembered as the man who championed it into its golden age.

Support the Daniel James Miller Foundation by donating this holiday season. You can get more information by visiting http://danieljamesmillerfoundation.wordpress.com/upcoming-fundraisers/. Any donation goes a long way. 
Happy Holidays to all!

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UFC 135: Tony Ferguson Has Emerged as a Bright Prospect

At UFC 135, one man could not keep his jaw from dropping. That man was Aaron Riley.
Riley, an MMA veteran looking to make a run at the title, held no answer for the man that stood across from him in the cage. Tony Ferguson, his opponent, ran throu…

At UFC 135, one man could not keep his jaw from dropping. That man was Aaron Riley.

Riley, an MMA veteran looking to make a run at the title, held no answer for the man that stood across from him in the cage. Tony Ferguson, his opponent, ran through Riley. Riley never managed to pose a threat to “El Cucuy,” and it cost him dearly.

About halfway through the first round, Ferguson landed a strong lead left uppercut. The force of the blow broke Riley’s jaw, which had been broken once before in his bout with Spencer Fisher. Riley, being the warrior that he is, fought through the rest of the first round, when his corner stopped the fight, giving Ferguson his first win in the UFC post-TUF.

Riley’s broken jaw was surely not anything any fan wants to see happen in a fight, but the striking display Ferguson put on during the first round certainly was jaw-dropping. He looked fantastic against a guy who has been around a long time in the sport, and that says miles about how far he can go.

So far, he has been ultra impressive every time in the cage, constantly developing his striking, and has not looked to be in trouble once in his short UFC career.

Ferguson comes from a very strong wrestling background, becoming an All-American twice and a national champion once in his college career at Central Michigan. That is the scary part.

He does not ever look to take the fight to the ground. He is a sprawl-and-brawl fighter, using that amazing wrestling to keep the fight standing, where he is always looking for the knockout.

 

So far, in his UFC career, he has delivered. He finished every one of his opponents in his stint on “The Ultimate Fighter.” He knocked out what seemed to be a very promising prospect in Ramsey Nijem to win the coveted six-figure contract. Now, he has decisively won his first fight in the big leagues, and forced a respected veteran in Riley to end his fighting career. 

He does not seem to be slowing down. In a lightweight division that is relatively weak on pure, one-punch knockout power, Ferguson seems like he can deliver. If his wrestling pedigree is anything to go off, it seems like he may be able to become a very serious contender in the division.

That being said, there are still many questions lingering the young prospect: Can he take a punch? How is his cardio? Is his jiu-jitsu good enough to avoid submission by the upper echelon? We just do not know that yet. As with any prospect, he still needs growth.

All questions aside, Ferguson seems like he can have a very bright future as a contender in the UFC. If the other night suggests anything, it is that this kid could very well be a threat to any fighter in the division. 

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Jake Ellenberger: "The Juggernaut" Has Earned the Right to Be Called a Contender

“The Juggernaut” may very well be the perfect nickname for UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger, as he has just been running through his opponent. Last night, Ellenberger won a quick TKO victory over former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields. …

“The Juggernaut” may very well be the perfect nickname for UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger, as he has just been running through his opponent.

Last night, Ellenberger won a quick TKO victory over former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields. A TKO is impressive by itself. A TKO in the first minute of the fight, even more impressive.

A TKO over a man who has only ever been finished once, and could not be finished by Dan Henderson, is about as impressive as it can be.

Ellenberger showed great poise in his biggest fight thus far in his UFC career, and made Shields look as if he were the one trying to break into contendership. He managed to throw Shields down as soon as they entered the clinch, and shrugged off a takedown attempt on the cage soon after. As Shields once again tried for a takedown, Ellenberger managed to get a hold of a Muay Thai plum clinch, and landed two knees, the latter which hit Shields on the chin and sent him flying to the canvas. Ellenberger finished him off with some good ground and pound, leaving Shields so removed from his senses that he attempted a takedown on the referee.

Ellenberger has been on a tear through the division ever since losing a split decision to Carlos Condit, who is now scheduled to fight Georges St. Pierre for the title at UFC 137 in his UFC debut. He has finished four of his last five fights, and is primed to become a serious contender in the division.

Ellenberger is part of the new breed of welterweight: he is multi-dimensional, fluid in transitioning from one facet of the fight to the other and is a finisher. Yet, he manages to stay unique within his division. He is almost like a smaller version of Dan Henderson, using his wrestling to keep the fight standing, and always looking for the KO. After being fed middle-of-the-pack fighters, this victory should push him into the upper echelons.

Now, the question is, is he good enough to dethrone GSP? St. Pierre is regarded as one of the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and has not looked human since losing to Matt Serra by TKO at UFC 69, and has not come close to losing since. No one has implemented a game plan that has even made GSP worried, outside of an eye poke (sorry Shields, someone had to say it). It would be quite the task for Ellenberger to present a threat to the champion.

Personally, I like Ellenberger’s chances. Well, let me rephrase that; I like Ellenberger’s chances better than most in the division. He has dynamite in his hands, has top caliber wrestling and comes to fight, unlike many of St. Pierre’s other opponents, but that in no way means that he is able to take the belt from “Rush,” or is even ready to try. The last dangerous striker St.Pierre fought was Thiago Alves, and St. Pierre put on a wrestling clinic. The last great wrestler he fought was Josh Koscheck, and he jabbed Koscheck’s eye into oblivion, while managing to take him down as well. At this point, St.Pierre still seems unbeatable inside his division, and, this writer thinks he will not give any reason to the fans to have hope for a different champion any time soon.

Ellenberger needs at least one more impressive win before he is thrown into the biggest fight of his life. If he wins another fight against a top contender (the winner of Jon Fitch-Jonny Hendricks comes to mind) and in impressive fashion, it will be nigh on impossible to deny the man his shot. Hopefully, he can give the champ the challenge he has been seeking inside his division. Until that day comes, “The Juggernaut” can be satisfied that he has solidified his place as a contender in one of the most competitive divisions in MMA.

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